It would be pretty unusual to have surgery when you are only having 1-2
seizures a month. Everyone I know who has had surgery was having many
seizures a month, even multiple seizures a day before surgery despite
over a year or more of medication therapy. Like Tammy and myself. I am
down to 3-4 a month nearly 3 years post surgery. I have accepted this
is as good as it's gonna get for me. If you are not seeing an
epileptologist, a neurologist who specializing in treating epilepsy, I
would do that before thinking anymore about surgery.
It is difficult to say what side effects are possible because this
primarily depends on the seizure focus, and what type of surgery is
done. There are different versions of a temporal lobectomy, partials,
full, anterior, interior, with or without removal of the amygdala
(controls emotional response). Whether or not surgery can be done will
depend on which lobe is the seizure focus, and whether the seizure focus
is in an area that is dominate for speech, language, or hearing. One of
your temporal lobes is dominate for speech, language processing, and
memory. For most people this is the left side of the brain, having
nothing to do with handedness. The opposite side helps process memory,
turning it into long term memory. When this surgery is performed long
term memory is not effected, you don't forget what was already stored.
What does often happen is the process that turns information into long
term memory is affected. This doesn't mean the process goes away, it
just becomes more difficult, and short term memory is effected. For
example, you may walk into the kitchen to get something, and forget when
you get there what it was. Yes this happens to everyone, but that kind
of thing happens multiple times a day for me.
The other common side effects are concentration issues and a tendency to
react more strongly to stimuli then previously. For example, I am now
light and sound sensitive. This can also involve a strengthening of
emotional responses, positive and negative. Most of us already have
that issue because of the meds we're on anyway! It is unusual, though a
risk, to have some vision issues, usually a field of vision narrowing
not a clarity problem.
Also, keep in mind, not everyone is able to go off their meds completely
after surgery. As a general rule a Dr. would start tapering drugs off
12 months after surgery and dependent on the bodies reaction continue
that process over a long period of time, or stop tapering them off. I
am on 2 meds rather then 3, no more topomax, just trileptal and lyrica.
Because I still have seizures I will continue on this dose for the
foreseeable future.
I really encourage you to see an epileptologist if you are not already.
You can find one near you at
http://www.naec-epilepsy.org/
Kelly
On 2/20/2011 7:14 PM, Merisia Gutierrez wrote:
> my concerned is what side affect surgery can bring
> currently I have one or two seizures a month, I do take 19 pills
> 3 different medications, my memory is not the best but what if it does get worse
> after surgery or something goes wrong, or my vision goes....I don't know I guess
> I'm just scared
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